What is Heart Transplant

Heart Transplant is the cardiac surgery or a heart surgery to replace defective or diseased heart with the one of donor.

In this the patient with less functioning heart or with end stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease, is replaced with the actively functioning heart of the deceased donor who is brain dead but still on life support .

This takes place in three steps:

1. While surgeons work on the patient’s heart the blood flows through a heart-lung bypass machine.
2. While patient’s diseased heart is removed and heart of donor is stitched in place of it.
3. Various tubes are inserted to outflow and drain the fluids, air and the blood, of body till lungs gradually expand and regain the full working volume.

Most of the heart transplants are done by method called orthotopic , cardiac transplantation, where most of the patient heart is removed and the donor heart is stitched into its place . The front half of the donor heart is stitched to the back half of the old heart. Then donor’s aorta and pulmonary arteries are connected to patients respective tubules.

Risk after heart transplant

As after the heart transplant procedure patient’s immune system is little weak, it may succumb to following incidents, if proper care measures are avoided:

1. Infection.
2. Bleeding through surgery wounds internally, which can lead to blood clots and choking of lungs and/or consequent heart attack.
3. Breathing problems.
4. Kidney failures.
5. Rejection of donor heart by patient’s immune system.

Precautions must be observed to avoid above mentioned risks and be knowledgeable and understanding to report any symptoms immediately to increase patient survival rate after surgery.